Tag Archives: Senate

Senate approves Padden bill to help pollinators

A bill requested by a Mount Spokane High School student to help bees and other pollinators has cleared the Senate this year.

The Senate voted 48-1 to pass Senate Bill 5934, a bipartisan measure introduced by 4^th District Sen. Mike Padden that aims to promote the use of pollinator-friendly shrubs or bushes in landscaping. The proposal now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration.

Prior to today’s vote, Padden told the Senate how pollinators, including bees and butterflies, play a very important role in the pollination of crops, contributing to the production of fruits, vegetables and nuts.

“They play a vital role in sustaining agriculture. It really can’t be overstated since 75% of the world’s food supply depends on pollinators. Taking steps to protect and enhance pollinators is very important to the environment but also important to agriculture practices,” said Padden, R-Spokane Valley.

Mount Spokane High School senior Julia Costello approached Padden this past fall about sponsoring the bill.

“Julia is a Girl Scout working to finish requirements to earn the Gold Award, which is equivalent to earning the Eagle Scout award as a Boy Scout,” said Padden. “One of Julia’s Gold Award requirements is working with a legislator on sponsoring a bill. Julia made a compelling case why improving pollinators’ habitat is beneficial. I’m pleased the Senate passed this bill and I hope the House will do likewise this session. It has been an honor and pleasure to work with her.”

Costello’s testimony in favor of the bill during its Jan. 11 public hearing before the committee can be viewed here.

Spokane Conservation District Director Vicki Carter sent a letter to Padden in January in support of the proposal. Part of Carter’s letter reads: “Pollinators, including bees, butterflies, and other insects, play a fundamental role in the pollination of crops, contributing to the production of fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Their vital role in sustaining agriculture cannot be overstated, as approximately 75% of the world’s food crops depend on pollinators for successful reproduction. Therefore, taking steps to protect and enhance pollinator populations is essential for ensuring food security and promoting sustainable agricultural practices.”

Under the amended version of the bill, a local government may encourage but need not require applicants for project or commercial-building permits to include pollinator-friendly plants in any landscaped area.

Senate passes second Padden bill removing red tape from construction of smaller condominiums

A year ago, the Legislature unanimously approved a bill from 4^th District Sen. Mike Padden that helps encourage home ownership in Washington by making it easier to construct smaller condominium buildings.

A similar condo-construction measure introduced by Padden is advancing this year following passage today by the Senate on a 49-0 vote. The proposal now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration.

Senate Bill 5792 would exclude buildings with 12 or fewer units that are no more than three stories high from the definition of “multiunit residential building” if one story is utilized for above- or below-ground parking or retail space.

“This bill builds on last year’s efforts to have more housing options for Washington’s middle class,” said Padden, R-Spokane Valley. “Condominiums provide an affordable path to homeownership for first-time homebuyers.”

When SB 5792 received a public hearing in the Senate Law and Justice Committee last month, several people testified in favor of it, including Spokane Valley City Council member Rod Higgins, Spokane City Council President Betsy Wilkerson, Greenstone Corporation’s Jim Frank and officials from the Washington Realtors Association and the Building Industry Association of Washington.

The law created last year by Padden’s Senate Bill 5058 exempts buildings with 12 or fewer units that are no more than two stories high from the definition of “multiunit residential building.”

Padden said the combination of that law and this year’s new bill should result in more homeownership in the state.

“Washington has one of the lower homeownership rates in the nation, and both policies can help our state address this problem,” said Padden. “These smaller condominiums would still have the same building requirements that a townhouse or single-family house would have.”

Senate passes Padden bill providing tax exemption for mobility equipment

Motorized wheelchairs and other mobility-improving equipment would become tax-exempt under legislation passed 48-0 today by the Senate. The proposal, Senate Bill 5218, was introduced by 4^th District Sen. Mike Padden.

“This bill will help people with disabilities by removing the sales tax from motorized wheelchairs or other technological equipment, which will help them save money while also helping maintain their independence,” said Padden, R-Spokane Valley. “It can be very costly for someone to buy such equipment that they need for their daily lives, and the sales tax only adds to the high cost. This bill helps make such purchases more affordable for those who need this needed equipment.”

During his Senate floor speech in favor of the proposal, Padden mentioned that written testimony supporting the bill was provided by Steve Gleason, a former Gonzaga Prep, Washington State University and New Orleans Saints football player who contracted amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

“He indicated how important this legislation would be, not only for those who have ALS or MS but those who need what I would call high-tech wheelchairs that can do so much and can cost $30,000 and up,” said Padden. “The sales tax portion is a large amount of money for this equipment. Steve pointed out that if people have this equipment, they are less likely to go into hospitals and require more expensive medical care.”

The proposal states that to claim the sales-tax exemption, the purchaser must provide the seller with an exemption certificate as prescribed by the state Department of Revenue. The tax exemption would apply to mobility-enhancing equipment sold or used on or after Aug. 1, 2023.

SB 5218 now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration.

The 2023 legislative session is scheduled to end April 23.

Padden satisfied with high-court decision affirming religious freedom

Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley and chairman of the Senate Law and Justice Committee, offered this statement following today’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that certain corporations may claim religious-freedom protections.

“For the second week in a row the court has found that the Obama administration overreached its authority. Today’s ruling confirms that Obamacare went too far, and strikes down the mandate that would force these employers to go against their religious convictions. It is good news for many people of faith.

“I’m glad a majority of the justices recognized that people are not required to automatically check their religious beliefs at the door simply because they choose to open a business.”

Human-trafficking discussion Monday to focus on identifying, rescuing victims

The Legislature’s ongoing fight against human trafficking will move back to a familiar venue Monday afternoon: the Senate Law and Justice Committee, where a work session will focus on the challenge of identifying those who have been pressed into sexual slavery, and how they may be rescued.

“Most people probably don’t connect the Super Bowl or high-end health spas with the modern-day slavery that goes with human trafficking. As our committee will hear Monday, there is a link,” said Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, who chairs the panel.

“It’s by understanding how the sex-trafficking industry operates, especially in places the average person wouldn’t suspect, that we can best figure out how to go after those who treat young women as a commodity – the pimps who do the selling and the johns who do the buying.” Continue reading →

Padden updates Latino community about battle against sex traffickers

Sen. Mike Padden today assured members of the state’s Latino Civic Alliance that he and other lawmakers remain committed to the fight against sex traffickers.

“After your visit in 2013 the Legislature made our state’s already-substantial laws even stronger, so law-enforcement officers would have even more tools to use against those who would victimize your children,” said Padden, R-Spokane Valley. “But the traffickers come up with new approaches, and state law must evolve too.” Continue reading →

Padden’s committee approves parental-notification bill

Sen. Mike Padden was among a majority of Senate Law and Justice Committee members who today endorsed legislation to require that an underage girl’s parent or guardian is notified before she can have an abortion.

Padden, R-Spokane Valley, said the vote on Senate Bill 5156 completes the work he and 17 other Republican and Democrat senators began in 2013 to make sure at least one parent or guardian receives 48 hours’ notice from the person intending to provide the abortion.

“The benefit of this bill is the same today as when it came before our committee for a public hearing this past legislative session,” said Padden, who is chairman of the panel. “It would not prohibit an underage girl from having an abortion but would simply give her parent or guardian the chance to talk with her ahead of time, or get ready to care for her afterward. Isn’t that an opportunity any parent or guardian would prefer to have, given the choice?

“Think about what it takes for parents to arrange for their children to receive medication at school, then ask whether it seems reasonable to notify a parent when his or her underage daughter is considering something as medically serious as an abortion.”

A 2013 poll commissioned by Human Life of Washington and conducted by Portland-based Moore Information found 65 percent of those responding were in favor of parents being notified before a girl under age 18 could have an abortion. Padden said the poll results found 25 percent of respondents were opposed and 9 percent were undecided.

In 1995, as chairman of the law and justice committee in the House of Representatives, Padden co-sponsored and held a public hearing on a similar bill; it went on to receive House approval but did not receive a hearing in the Senate.

Three years later the Senate approved a parental-notification bill; it also received committee approval in the House but was not brought to a full House vote.

Gun-rights initiatives to receive public hearing Jan. 29

Sen. Mike Padden will devote the Senate Law and Justice Committee’s Jan. 29 meeting to public hearings on the two gun-rights initiatives before the Legislature. His panel will begin taking testimony about Initiative 591 and Initiative 594 at 1:30 p.m. that day in Senate Hearing Room 1.

Padden, R-Spokane Valley, realizes the Legislature is expected to exercise its constitutional right to place the two measures on the November general-election ballot, rather than vote on them at the Capitol. That makes the hearing one week from today all the more important, he said.

“More often than not initiatives go straight to the people, rather than the Legislature, meaning lawmakers don’t get to ask questions about the consequences – and we all know how laws sometimes have unintended consequences,” said Padden. “Bringing these two measures before our committee, and the public, will allow for questions that might not be answered otherwise. That helps us and it can only help to inform the voters,” he said. Continue reading →

Senator Mike Padden with an update on the final budget and the end of the 2012 session

4th District Washington State Senator Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, talks about the passage of the final budget and the end of the 2012 legislative session, first special session and second special session.

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